Red Cell Folate Testing
Unwarranted and Overutilized in the Era of Folic Acid Supplementation
Folate and Vitamin B12 Deficiency
November 2010
One critical point to remember prior to initiation of folic acid supplementation is to rule out cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency. Unlike dietary folate, synthetic folic acid (pteroylglutamic acid) is reduced directly to tetrahydrofolate without the need for cobalamin as a cofactor. For this reason, the administration of supplemental amounts of folic acid to a B12-deficient patient may correct the megaloblastic hematologic changes but still allow neurologic disease to progress. This damage is often irreversible.
Folate and Vitamin B12 Deficiency |
Jump to section:
- Introduction
- Folate
- Folate
- Selected Food Sources of Folate and Folic Acid*
- Causes of Folate Deficiency
- Laboratory Diagnosis of Folate Deficiency
- Folate and Vitamin B12 Deficiency
- Quantitation of Folate: Methods
- Differences Between Folate Immunoassays
- Analytical Imprecision: RBC Folate (CAP Surveys)
- Equivalence of Serum and RBC Folate
- Modern Folate Deficiency is Rare
- Mayo RBC/Serum Folate Orders 1999-2009
- Conclusions
- Questions?
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